We were all getting comments and questions about the makeover at work and online.

Pete and Dennis thought there were a good number of new faces in the audience.

On the down-side, we didn’t feel great about the show. And no, it wasn’t the dresses. It was mostly because our schedules didn't let us get in as much rehearsal time as we usually like to have. We had some good moments, but we felt like a lot of our characters and storylines were really similar from scene to scene. For my part, I felt like my characters were all insecure and tentative.

I think we’re experienced enough as improvisers that even when we’re not hilarious every scene, we’re capable of being interesting. Pete, Dennis and Julie said the audience seemed engaged, even when they weren't watching. So I don’t think (the guys can weigh in to the contrary) that we ruined improv for anyone.*

What’s next:

Spite starts rehearsing our asses off—we’ve got two shows in September (one at the KC Improv Festival, the other another gig with Loaded Dice) and a couple in October (Impfest! YAY!).

We’re going shopping again, with the new rules we got from Amy and Daryl.

*I'm working on taking a compliment. So when some non-improv folks I work with said, "that was fun!" I resisted the urge to say, "It wasn't as good as we usually are!" That's really, really, really hard.

8 comments:

1. You didn't ruin improv for anyone.2. "the audience seemed engaged, even when they weren't watching" The audience was always watching, so I'm not sure what you meant to say here. Laughing perhaps?3. I have struggled with receiving feedback from the less-than-frequent attending friends who have seen shows as well. Anymore, I simply thank them and inform them when the next opportunity for us to blow them away occurs. Why ruin a pleasant memory they have by informing them they saw a subpar performance?

Just my $.02. Please don't judge me if I have to borrow that back in the near future? Thanks.

Good question. I don't think we've ever had a meh show after what we felt like was enough rehearsing. Rehearsing is my confidence drug*—and when I play confidently, I very rarely feel meh about a show.

*I wish it were something simpler and less time consuming, like beer. But it's rehearsal, and plenty of it.

Corey and I learned a good lesson in our most recent all improvised show. Get the hell out of the scene. We literally had a 10 minute performance slot and as our director reminded us, we have the power to get out of any scene whenever we want. We didn't even have to justify why we left the scene, because an audience doesn't need it tied up with a nice bow. It kept the pace going to start a fresh scene when needed, especially if we weren't getting the response we wanted.

Sometimes having an outside eye helps too. I know we have a tough time coaching ourselves. Just a thought.